Clothes hanger and attachment therefor



Deco 16, 1958 B. SOLOW 2,864,147

CLOTHES HANGER AND ATTACHMENT THEREFOR Filed Nov. 5, 1957 2 SheetsSheet 1 INVENTOR. BE/VJA/MV J04 0W ATZU/F/VEK Dec. 16, 1958 B. soLow 238645147 CLOTHES HANGER AND ATTACHMENT THEREFOR Filed NOV. 5, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR;

United States Patent CLOTHES HANGER AND ATTACHIVIENT THEREFOR Benjamin Solow, North Hollywood, Calif.

Application November 5, 1957, Serial No. 694,649

Claims. (Cl. 24-2305 i This invention is directed to a clothes hanger and attachment therefor, and more particularly to a clothes hanger which may be readily used along the supporting bar on which it is carried and to an attachment for converting a conventional clothes hanger into a clothes hanger which may be readily moved along its supporting bar.

It is an every day occurrence with conventional clothes hangers that the same are most difficult to move along their supporting bar, particularly when they are weighted down with a heavy garment, such as an overcoat or the like. This problem is greatly accentuated when there are a large number of closely spaced clothes hangers carried on a single supporting bar.

It has already been suggested to produce clothes hangers having rollers or other means in place of the conventional hook. In the main these roller-type clothes hangers have not been adopted because they are relatively expensive, and relatively cumbersome to use. Moreover, the adoption of other basic forms of clothes hangers would mean the necessity for discarding the enormous number of conventional type clothes hangers and also discarding or drastically modifying the existing facilities for the manufacture of clothes hangers. Moreover, the cost of the various forms of roller-type-clothes hangers heretofore suggested is considerably greater than the cost of conventional clothes hangers. V

This invention has as an object the provision of a clothes hanger which may be readily moved along the supporting bar on which it is carried.

This invention has as another object the provision of an attachment for conventional clothes hangers which will convert such conventional clothes hangers into a form in which the same may be readily rolled along a supporting bar.

This invention has as yet another object the provision of an attachment for a conventional clothes hanger which is cheap to manufacture and which maybe mounted upon any type of conventional clothes hanger, and which will convert such clothes hanger into a clothes hanger which may be readily rolled along a supporting bar.

Other objects will appear hereinafter. i

For the purpose of illustrating the invention there is shown in the drawings forms which are presently preferred; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

Referring to the drawings wherein like reference characters refer to like parts: v

Figure -1 is an elevational view of a clothes hanger of the present invention mounted upon a supporting bar.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2-2 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view revealing a modified form of the clothes hanger embodiment of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on line 66 of Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a fragmentary elevational view of another embodiment of the clothes hanger of the present invention mounted upon its supporting bar.

Figure 8 is a plan view of the spring portion of the clothes hanger of Figure 7 before such spring portion is bent into shape and before rollers are carried on said spring portion.

Figure 9 is an elevational view of the clothes hanger attachment portion of the clothes hanger shown in Figure 7, with one of the rollers presented in phantom line so as to reveal the structure of the retention means of the clothes hanger attachment.

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken on line 10-10 of Figure 7.

Figure 11 is a sectional view taken on line 11--11 of Figure 10.

Referring to the drawings and initially to Figures 1, 2 and 3 the clothes hanger of the present invention shown in the form of a coat hanger is designated generally as 12. The clothes hanger 12 includes a garment carrying member 14 which may be formed of wood or plastic and which may be of conventional arcuate form. The hook 16 of clothes hanger 12 projects upwardly midway between the ends of clothes hanger 12 and may be of conventional construction formed of wire or the like. The clothes hanger 12 is carried upon the tubular supporting bar 18, and a plurality of the clothes hangers 12 of the present invention may be spaced along side each other on the supporting bar 18. 1 g

The clothes hanger attachment of the present invention is designated generally as 20 and comprises the helical spring 22, which is preferably formed from spring steel or the like. The individual coils forming the spring 22 are of uniform width dimension except that two sets of enlarged coils designated 24 and 26 are provided on the spring 22, the set of enlarged coils 24 being provided at a distance one-third of the length of spring 22 from one end of the spring 22 and the set of enlarged coils 26 being provided at a distance one-third of the length of spring 22 from the other end of spring 22. I

The construction of the set of enlarged coils designated 24 is shown particularly in Figures 2 and 3. It is'to be understood that the structure of the set of enlarged coils 26 is identical to that of the set of enlarged coils 24.

The enlarged coils 24 include coils of such width that,

the same serve as stops for retaining the roller 28 in position. The set of enlarged coils 26 similarly serves as stops to retain the roller 30 in position. The mounting of the roller 30 within the set of enlarged coils 26 is identical to the mounting of the roller 28 within the set of enlarged coils 24, and will not be discussed herein.

The roller 28 (and the roller 30) is preferably a polished annular disc of metal having a sufficiently large diameter opening at its center to embrace the hook 16, but of smaller size than the diameter of the enlarged coils 24 which form the set. Thus, the roller 28 is carried upon the spring 22 in such disposition-that it is freely rotatable, with its axis of rotation having a common center to the center of the longitudinal axis of the spring 22, but with the enlarged coils preventing lateral movement of the roller 28, namely movement of the roller 28 along the length of the spring 22.

In its normal unmounted position the spring 22 may be straight, but when mounted upon the hook 16 the spring 22 conforms to the shape of the hook 16 while embracing the same. 1

As can be seen from Figure 1 when the attachment 20 is mounted onto the book 16 the clothes hanger 12 may be rolled along supporting bar 18. Due 'to the resilient nature of the hook 22, and due to the even spacing of the rollers 28 along the length of the spring 22, the attachment may be mounted upon hooks of a wide variety of different dimensions and shapes and may function satisfactorily with such wide variety of dimensions and shapes. It is to be noted that the internal diameter of the coils of spring 22 may be appreciably larger than=the outside diameter of the wire forming the hook 1 6. This enables the attachment '20 to be mounted upon a-wid'e variety of hooks.

The embodiment of the present invention'designate 12a shown in Figures 4, and 6 generally resembles the embodiment 12 of Figures 1, 2 and 3 except that in place of the sets of enlarged coils 24 and 26 which were used as stops in the spring 22 of such embodiment, the spring 22a of the clothes hanger attachment 20a shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6'includes two-pairs of clinched split washers 34 which are spacedon spring 22a in the positions assumed by the sets of enlarged coils 24 and 26, namely one of 'thepair of clinched split washers 34 is provided at a distance one-third of the length of spring 22a from one end ofthe spring 22a and the other pair of clinched split washers 34 is provided at a distance one-third of the length of spring 22a from the other end of spring 22a.

Each of the pairs of clinched split washers 34 retain in position a roller 36 which generally resembles the rollers 28 and 30 of the embodiment shown in Figures 1 through3. It will be noted that the coils of the spring 22a are of uniform outside dimension throughout and that the opening 38 in roller 36 is somewhat greater than the outside dimension of the coils of spring 22a.

Since the coils of the spring 22a have an inside diameter appreciably greater than the outside diameter of the hook 16a of the clothes hanger 120, the spring 22a may be accommodated-to a wide variety of hooks.

Referring to Figures 7 through 11, and initially to Figures 7, 10 and 11 thereis shown therein another embodiment of the clothes hanger of the present invention designated 12b. The clothes hanger 12b includes a garment carrying member 14b and'a hook 16b, the same generally resembling the garment carrying member 14 and hook 16 of'the clothes hanger embodiment 12 shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3. The clothes hanger 12b may be carried upon a supporting bar 18b, which is of conventional construction.

The clothes hanger attachment 20b is formed from leaf spring 40, which comprises an integral member formed from the blank 40b of spring steel or other suitable metal. -The clothes hanger attachment 20b includes ring members 42 positioned at its ends and center. The ring members 42 are formed 'by rolling the tabs 42b of blank 40b about themselves. The circle encompassed within the ring members 42 has a larger diameter than the outside diameter of the hook 16b of clothes hanger 12b so that the ring members 42 embrace the hook 16b. The resiliency of the leaf spring 40 permits it to accommodate from its normal flat shape to the arcuate shape of the hook 16b with which it is associated.

A pair of spaced rollers 44 which generally resemble the rollers 28 and 30 of the embodiment shownin Figures 1, 2 and 3 are carried on leaf spring 40, each of the rollers being disposed intermediate one of the end ring members 42 and the central ring member 42.

The rollers 44 are carried on the leaf spring 40 and retained in position thereon by means of the offset lugs 46 which embrace the end faces 48 of the rollers 44 for an appreciable distance. Each of the lugs 46 is carried on a tab 50 which is arcuately curved to provide a bearing 7 surface for the inside of the roller 44 which it carries.

Thus, each of the rollers 44 is shaped in the form of an annular disc, and is provided at its center with a circular opening 52. The surface of such circular opening 52 is juxtaposed to the surface of tab 50 that is intermediate the offset lugs 46.

The opening 52 within each of the rollers 44 is of a sufliciently large diameter to receive the leaf spring 40 and the hook 16b.

When the clothes hanger attachment 20b is mounted on the hook 16b it permits the clothes hanger 12 to be moved along the supporting bar 18b, the rollers 44 engaging the supporting bar 18b in the manner shown in Figure 7.

The present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and, accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, rather than to the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of the invention.

'I claim:

1. An attachment for the hook of a clothes hanger for permitting the same to be rolled along a supporting bar, said attachment comprising a resilient spring having a plurality of spaced rings, each of said rings being of sufficient internal diameter to embrace the hook of the clothes hanger, a plurality of spaced rollers carried on said spring, each of said rollers being an annular disc whose central opening embraces the spring, the central opening of each of said rollers being of sufficient internal diameter to embrace both the spring and the hook of the clothes hanger when the rings of the spring are disposed upon the hook of the clothes hanger, and stop means on said spring on either side of each of said rollers for preventing lateral movement of said rollers.

2. An attachment for the hook of a clothes hanger for permitting the same to be rolled along a supporting bar, said attachment comprising a resilient spring having at least three spaced rings, each of said spaced rings having an internal opening of sufiicient diameter to embrace the hook of the clothes hanger when the attachment is carried thereon, a pair of spaced rollers carried on said spring, each of said rollers being an annular disc, the central opening of each of said rollers being of sufficeint internal diameter to embrace both the spring and the hook of the clothes hanger when the rings of the spring are disposed upon the hook of the clothes hanger, and stop means on said spring on either side of each of said rollers for preventing lateral movement of said rollers.

3. An attachment for the hook of a clothes hanger in accordance with claim 2 in which the spring comprises a coil spring and in which the stop means comprise enlarged coils of said coil spring.

4. An attachment for the hook of a clothes hanger in accordance with claim 2 in which the spring comprises a coil spring and each of the stop means on said spring comprises a washer secured to the spring.

5. An attachment for the hook of a clothes hanger in accordance with claim 2 .in which the spring is a leaf spring and in which the rings are integrally formed therefrom, with the stop means comprising offset members extending from said leaf spring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

